Vodafone pledges to halt mid-contract price hikes

The promise applies to all Vodafone pay-monthly customers, who
will no longer see changes made to their line rental throughout the
duration of their 12- or 24-month contracts. The news will no doubt
be pleasing to the ears of Vodafone customers and may serve to lure
in new customers who may have been bitten by mid-contract price
hikes in the past.

"We asked our customers what they thought was fair when it came
to charging, and the clear majority told us that it was
unacceptable to increase monthly prices during the contract term.
So from now on, when you sign up with us, a deal's a deal, and we
promise the monthly price you pay will stay the same for the period
of your contract term, provided you stick within your allowance,"
said Cindy Rose, consumer director at Vodafone, in a statement.

Vodafone has introduced the rule after recently agreeing to Ofcom proposals that state customers have
the right to back out of contracts if their mobile operator
attempts to hike their monthly bill mid-way through their
contracts. The proposals also state that networks must do more to
make customers aware of the terms of contracts during the sign-up
process.

It's important to note that outside of monthly line rental
agreement, Vodafone is still well within its rights to increase
other charges. This means the cost of making calls to premium rate
numbers, non-geographic numbers could easily be boosted. Similarly,
the price of making calls, sending texts and using data after
exceeding the allowances stated in a customer's contract could also
go up. Vodafone promises customers it will keep customers in the
loop and make them well aware of any changes it introduces in order
to avoid "any nasty surprises".